'Pokémon GO' is making never-before-seen heaps of money — but there's a catch

Reuters While users are catching all of the Pokémon on "Pokémon GO," Nintendo is raking in an impressive sum of cash.

The Japanese tech giant has reportedly made $14 million, according to research from SuperData, from the augmented reality game that was only released one week ago. The game has users search for virtual Pokémon in their real-life environments.

That puts "Pokémon GO" ahead of related games, such as "Pokémon Shuffle Mobile" and "Miitomo." It's also ahead of another game from its developer Niantic called "Ingress," a comparable augmented reality game that has only grossed $1.1 million in three years since its release.

For comparison, "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood," which was the app of the summer in 2014, made $1.6 million in its first five days, according to Variety. So "GO" is doing just fine.

"Pokémon GO" is free to download on Android and iOS, but of course comes with the option for in-app purchases. Spend $1 and get 100 Pokécoins to buy incense to attract Pokémon so you can catch 'em all.

But the report goes on to say the game's popularity might be a singular phenomenon.

"Just like every other mobile game it will have to face the retention figures after 7, 30, and 90 days," the report reads. "Chances are we are looking at the mobile games' equivalent of a summer hit song rather than a revolution in the mobile game monarchy."